Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout round play-off.
Having beaten Club Brugge 3-1 in their final league phase game to make it through to the next stage at the last opportunity, Pep Guardiola’s side have been drawn against the 15-time European champions in the glamour tie of the play-off round.
City’s draw against Madrid means that Celtic will go up against Bayern Munich, now managed by former City captain Vincent Kompany, for the right to advance to the last 16.
City are due to host Madrid on either February 11 or 12, travelling to Madrid for the return leg the following week.
Champions League knockout phase play-off draw
- Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain
- Monaco vs Benfica
- Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven
- Feyenoord vs Milan
- Manchester City vs Real Madrid
- Celtic vs Bayern Munich
- Club Brugge vs Atalanta
- Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund
The road to Munich mapped out 🏆#UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/BbVxl80dhD
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 31, 2025
It will be the fifth two-legged tie between City and Madrid in the last six seasons. Last year Madrid ended City’s hopes of retaining the Champions League as they won a penalty shoot-out at the Etihad in the quarter-finals.
The previous May, City beat Madrid 4-0 at the Etihad to complete a 5-1 aggregate win in the semi-finals, going on to complete a treble by beating Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul to conquer Europe for the first time in the club’s history.
The winners of the tie will advance to face either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16, while the winners of the tie between Celtic and Bayern will also face either Atletico or Leverkusen, with that draw to take place on February 21.
The rest of the play-off draw saw Juventus paired with PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord drawn against AC Milan, while Club Brugge will face Atalanta.
There is an all-French tie between Brest and Paris St Germain, Monaco will take on Benfica, and Sporting were drawn against Borussia Dortmund.
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